The Night Rider

Chapter 35 - Ambush

The group was ordered entirely on Odi's plan to disguise the twins' new abilities until the last minute. Hack and Mantis acted as decoys while he kept the front stable and kept an eye on the arriving Creatist Trait creatures. 

The adaptability of the different Traits working and clashing together was the crux of the Scale Shriekers plan. Based on how their previous fight went she paired the Triad behind his Smoke Trait since it could strengthen his while combating Cricket's tricky Air Trait.

Once the creatures had been taken care of they could clog the air with enough smoke to confuse Cricket and provide him with plenty of Trait to work with. If the others struggled to breathe, Mantis could coralle it in one place while Hack provided a defensive line that could work since he was used to being surrounded in thick smog. For a five minute battle plan it was more solid than anything he could come up with.

"Mark!"

Hawkins couldn't help but be startled by the Scale Shriekers commanding voice. Obediently, they all stepped to the side in single formation to allow the two Fire Traited and the slightly unsteady dragon to step forwards into the fray of inanimate soldiers.

Odi's eyes were fixed on the first line of creatures almost as tall as her as they finally came into their territory. Hawkins couldn't help but notice how Odi steadied herself, trying so hard to hide her injuries but the lolloping gait of a downed dragon was unmistakable. 

Looking away from the gaze of the dragon as to avoid his own guilt, Hawkins busied himself by working in tandem with Mantis to gather as much smoke as they could. It seemed she was as worried about Rin as he was about Odi. 

Trying to direct it away from the protective shield of shadows was like separating oil from water. But the little control he had left was helped greatly by Mantis' combined power of both a Traited and a Caster. Whichever she was didn't matter to him as long as she helped in the fight.

In a matter of minutes the two had used their situations to create an army of smoke traps, similar to the noose he had used to trap Cullian. This time the twenty odd smoke coils had been tied to the roofs above them and were hidden by the rubble playground below. All it took was the slightest touch of unfamiliar Trait and it would spring unsuspectedly to ensnare any target.

"I think we have company." Mantis said curtly, slightly concerned at the idea of more intruders.

Hawkins barely heard her over the loud rattling, ever distracted by the numerous facets to his Trait in trying to keep it in check. Trying to contain the numerous threads, far more than he was used to, he asked a vague question to try and get a sense of how bad things had gotten.

"More bugs?" 

He sounded almost bored, fed up with the army of inanimate creatures that continued to rise in numbers but strangely not distance. Mantis didn't reply at first, surprisingly hesitant as her hand rose to point out a hazy shape in the cloud of smog.

It was barely visible even with his ability to see through his own Trait but the deadly glint of the weapon was unmistakable. It was a large pair of tomahawks, bigger than the battle axe he had seen previously in many a bout. But despite only being able to see one he knew who the pair belonged to. Barnstormer.

"Worse than bugs. Enforcers."

It was like Mantis had knocked the breath clean out of his lungs. He staggered for a moment, the conformation of more than one wasn't enough for a single Mediator to handle. Instead of panicking, he allowed his mind to focus on the proof he had already seen and went through the information he knew about the infamous Earth Traited.

Barnstormer was the main muscle for the Gearloose gang, an ex soldier turned mercenary from Willowridge who got wrongly fired after being injured in a cave in. But that was only according to her, not her file. The Willowridge nobles had covered up the accident and blamed it on a lesser noble than them, a young girl of all people.